Mr. Manager and Shiori tell stories about hiring Shinozaki. Later, Shinozaki wins for Shiori matching plushie partners in a crane game.
Episode 3 — “Is This How I Look to You?”
Hmm.
If you’ve read or watched any of the Shakespearean comedies, you’ll notice patterns the Bard loved putting into each one. Yes, errors and coincidences snowballed into misunderstandings, leading to dramatic fallings-out before a massive wedding production. But another hallmark of those comedies was how side characters fell in love too. The tradition continues in modern romantic comedies like My Tiny Senpai. My Senpai is Annoying, another office romance anime, had a similar dynamic with the main character Futaba’s colleagues, Touko and Kazama making a love connection. The leading candidates for a parallel love story involve Chinatsu and Mr. Manager (Akina). But there is a considerable distance between the pair to close. The groundwork for that bridge started this week.
Chinatsu’s prickly attitude toward Mr. Manager should have made her more reluctant to join him in stalking Shiori and Shinozaki last week in My Tiny Senpai. So why did she tolerate being dragged along? Because she already developed a soft spot for him. On the day of her job interview, Mr. Manager proved to be a helpful and thoughtful future boss. He made an excellent first impression on the young production designer. Only later did Chinatsu discover Akina’s “weird hobby” and nosiness about others’ love lives. Perhaps she hopes to see that impressive office worker again if she spends more time with him. The next step will come from Mr. Manager drawing closer to Chinatsu if the side relationship becomes a feature for My Tiny Senpai.
Heh.
Who’s Akina? Oh! It’s Mr. Manager! Ha! Look at these guys trying to stir tea in the office. I’d remember Shiori Katase’s name too, you know! Shinozaki’s buddy Yuusuke is a total bro putting Tuesday and the Weekend in an NTR scenario! Look at Mr. Manager dishing the gossip about Shiori to Shinozaki. She jumped up and down in excitement for her first junior colleague. Hahaha! Shiori was already at the restaurant in the next booth. Expect puns and references for Shinozaki’s given name Takuma. Then he met Shiori. So tiny! So cute! But what is that glaring face all about? Oh. We know it will be an innocent, heartwarming reason, so wait for the explanation. Ah. She was waiting for her chance to act like a dependable senior. Ohoho! Look at how much Shiori enjoyed being called “Senpai.” Mr. Manager picked up “undertones” since the beginning.
The eye-catchers show professional and casual versions of Shiori. I love that smug OL-chan vibe.
Tiny Senpai Plushie Love
There we go! The origin of the cute plushies in the end credits came from a crane game. A cat wears a pink rabbit hoodie, and a black dog wears a bear hoodie. Yay! Shiori said the My Tiny Senpai episode title. And yes. Shiori looks like a cute kitten wearing a cuter pink bunny hoodie. All the time! Takuma is more like a chicken instead of a bear-hoodie-wearing black puppy. He even knew he should call Shiori “cute” right then. Oh well. It’s only the third episode. Hot take alert: the plushie is only “90% Shinozaki.”
Okay, Shinozaki can be a 100% hero by catching those plushies! Foreshadowing: Shinozaki’s sister was a fan of Meowtaro, making him an older sis-con. This is not a shounen show, Shinozaki, so no one needs to “protect smiles.” But I understand the sentiment. Pace yourself, Shinozaki. You only have 300 chances on Shiori’s budget. Adorable! The black puppy didn’t want to be separated from the pink kitten. Hoho. The black puppy needs a name: Takuma! Hey, that’s Shinozaki’s name! But it was supposed to be a pun on “bear” (熊, くま, kuma). No hesitation for Shiori’s name on the pink bunny kitten.
Meowtaro on Otome Road
Uh oh. Angry Designer-senpai. An unpaid overtime after-hours meeting. I thought Sunpick was not a “black company” in My Tiny Senpai. Eh?! Meowtaro is inside a dating sim as an ikemen. Why not? Fujoshi need more otomege. Designer-senpai revealed many things about her “weird hobbies.” Shiori is not a fan of ikemen-Meowtaro. Aiko-senpai needs romantic anecdotes for her game routes because she has none herself. Uh. Neither do Chinatsu, Shinozaki, and Shiori! Wait a minute. Chinatsu had a Prince Charming story on the day of her job interview at Sunpick. She had broken the heel of her shoe, and a handsome man glued it back together for her. And he was on the interview panel too! Unfortunately, that dreamboat was Mr. Manager, so all those impressions flew off. So cynical, “Fireworks are pretty because you see them from a distance.”
Ahaha! Shiori put a tie on “Takuma.” Oh, man. I’m dying. Uh oh. Shiori can’t undress in front of “Takuma.” Whoa. Shower fanservice! And plushie love scene! Woohoo! Now we know where Shiori’s pajamas come from in the end credits. A plushie love connection!
My Tiny Senpai (Uchi no Kaisha no Chiisai Senpai no Hanashi) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles.
Those Takuma and Shiori plushies are so cute! The J-List store has a loving pair of plushies that also stick together that you can preorder. Golden Kamuy plushies! Asirpa and Sugimoto can keep you company as you search for gold.
Do you think Chinatsu and her Prince Charming have a chance of getting together? Mr. Manager has already touched her feet! Jealous? Let us know in the comments below or online on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord.
